JKX
Any thoughts on why some of the photos of your aircraft can be copyrighted? Seems to me that in most cases your permission to take photographs was not authorised or granted! And does it mean that if I photo-shop someone elses picture I can copyright it too?
Simple Guide for the UK most countries are similar.
With a pic of an aircraft (or thing/person/animal) the copyright is owned by the photographer, legally referred to as the 'author', unless the author agrees to assign copyright to another party by means of a contract of some sort.
If your aircraft is in a public place, eg aerodrome, then it, you, your pax etc etc and the surrounding area are fair game to be included in an image taken by someone. They do not need your permission to take the image or publish it be that for fun (eg this thread) or commercial gain (a web site selling images/magazine use). If you are in your hangar, your
own landing strip, then that
may be considered a 'private' place and you can prohibit photos being taken as a condition of entry. You can't prevent a shot being taken over the fence though.
If you use someone elses image and photoshop it, without permission from the copyright holder that is a copyright infringement, and the infringer
could be liable for costs. Needless to say you can't claim copyright on the photoshopped image unless you have permission to use the original in the first place.
Web sites/forums etc are considered 'publishing', hence many of them have strict rules in the T&C's we sign up to to be members regarding the use of images, to prevent them as 'publisher' being penalised.
The use of copyright depends on the photographer, sometimes it will be to make money from it, a professional photographer is a business just like any other, and is very often used to prevent
someone else making money from an image, either selling it or using it in different media for advertising or editorial matter.
As I say the above is a simple guide, the easiest way to prevent problems is to ask. i.e if you see an image you like send an email to the site owner asking permission to use or link the image. It's not often you get a refusal in my experience.
hth